By Jim Rossignol on August 16th, 2011 at 12:47 pm.
Eurogamer have a brief and mysterious news story sourced from Mike Capps of Epic Games who was speaking at Gamescom/GDCE today. Epic are apparently working on five new games, none of them Gears Of War related. Could one of them be Samaritan? Probably not, as it sounds like these are small-scale projects. Anyway, here’s the important bit:
“It’s nice to target the PC as a primary platform again,” teased Capps, “not just for ports.”
16/08/2011 at 12:50 Teddy Leach says:
If you say so.
16/08/2011 at 13:00 Khemm says:
You can bet these will be some small projects, like Shadow Complex. Nothing like, say, Gears of War. Not that making “smaller titles” is a bad thing, but I fear Epic will release their AAA juggernauts only on xbox and these small ones everywhere else. That would sort of suck.
16/08/2011 at 13:47 El_MUERkO says:
I stopped caring about Epic after UT3 so I greet this news with a helping of ‘MEH!’
16/08/2011 at 14:40 DrGonzo says:
Shadow Complex is their best game in years and years though. Although it was actually developed by Chair.
16/08/2011 at 15:39 Coriform says:
I’d kill for a Shadow Complex port to PC.
16/08/2011 at 18:46 FakeAssName says:
Hey now, facebook games are PC titles too! *eyeroll*
Thanks for coming back to the PC, only after Flying Hog punked your asses …
17/08/2011 at 05:44 rayne117 says:
Just popped into say Shadow Complex was awesome: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WviHlKtsUWE
16/08/2011 at 12:50 skurmedel says:
I hope it shows this time. Also, ditch GFWL.
16/08/2011 at 13:19 povu says:
I hope so.
I still have nighmares of the infinite loop GFWL puts you in when first starting Bulletstorm. Log in to GFWL to access the main menu! Update GFWL to log in! Exit the game to finish GFWL update! Access the main menu to exit the game! Log in to GFWL to access the main menu!
16/08/2011 at 15:30 skurmedel says:
But the buttons you have to press to do all that is really streamlined!
16/08/2011 at 18:42 FakeAssName says:
OH DEAR FUCKING GOD NO, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
HOW DARE THEY HAVE AN AUTO PATCHER THAT RUNS WITHIN THE GAME! HOW, FUCKING, DARE THEY! HOW FUCKING DARE THEY REQUIRE THE GAME TO RESET IN ORDER TO APPLY THE PATCH! THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS!
M
O
T
H
E
R
F
U
C
K
E
R
S
NOOOOOOOO! I MUST NOW RIP MY EYES OUT BECAUSE THE GFWL CLIENT IS EMBEDDED INSIDE THE GAMES AND ONLY RUNS WHEN THE GAME IS ACTIVE INSTEAD OF AN EXTERNAL CLIENT THAT LIKES TO SLAP ME IN THE FACE WITH WITH IT’S COCK EACH TIME I START MY PC! OH YES, PLEASE! DEAR SWEET, GLORIOUS STEAM; RUB YOUR BALLS UP AND DOWN MY FACE AS YOU TAKE FIVE TO TEN MINUTES TO LOG IN, APPLY YOUR DAILY CLIENT UPDATE, CHECK EVERY SINGLE GOD DAMNED GAME FOR AN UPDATE, MAKE SURE I AM AWARE OF ALL THE PRE-ORDERS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE STEAM STORE, PESTER ME TO TAKE YOUR HARDWARE SURVEY THAT ACCIDENTALLY REPORTS ABOUT ALL OF MY INSTALLED SOFTWARE WHILE IT’S AT IT, AND THEN ACTIVELY REFUSES TO LET ME ACCESS ANY OF THE SINGLE TITLE I WANTED TO PLAY UNTIL IT HAS BEEN UPDATED!
OH YEAH, GIVE IT TO ME! I LOVE THAT SHIT, FUCK YES!!! VALVE, I AM YOUR WHORE FOREVER!!!
FOR *DEEP BREATH* EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
16/08/2011 at 19:04 Spider Jerusalem says:
Try less hard.
16/08/2011 at 19:11 skurmedel says:
Lol. Steam must’ve killed his parents.
16/08/2011 at 19:15 Khemm says:
@Spider
He actually makes valid points. GFWL needs work, its GUI is ugly, but it’s hardly the abomination Valve fanboys make it out to be.
16/08/2011 at 19:30 FakeAssName says:
@skurmedel
Just as much as GFWL killed yours, it’s kinda getting funny how easy it is to spot Steam addicts: they end every sentence with a Hail Caesar of “Not GFWL!” and even if they don’t have anything to say they will still make a comment that only says “Not GFWL.”
… ‘course that’s just the normal addicts, the hard core ones will chime in to the “Not GFWL” with a Hail Hitler of “Not Origin!” (unless no one has called out a Hail Caesar yet and then they will provide both the Hail Ceaser and the Hail Hitler).
16/08/2011 at 20:26 D says:
If your goal is to massively lower the level of discourse in these here comment sections, I have good news!
16/08/2011 at 21:50 Jason Moyer says:
GFWL is an abomination because it’s so horribly broken. Going from a clean install of Windows to the latest working version of GFWL actually involves searching microsoft’s support forums in order to find updates that are crticial to the application working but not available anywhere outside of a microsoft support article. (This may have changed with the latest installer, but as of a few months ago the full GFWL installer didn’t include the newest version of GFWL or an easy way to get it).
Oh, and Steam doesn’t start when you turn your computer on unless you’re an idiot.
Edit: Oh, and the absolute worst part of GFWL, is that it makes you launch the game before it even starts downloading a patch for it – meaning you have to sit there and stare at a ‘downloading’ screen while the unpatched game is running in the background. Because of this, I can’t even play Red Faction Guerrila – the game crashes before the download completes.
16/08/2011 at 22:25 Simon Dufour says:
I don’t like GFWL because it doesn’t work well for me. I once got my account locked and it took several days to get my account back. Lost all my saves numerous times. No fun. I now evade GFWL games.. it’s my choice. I have 600 games on Steam though.
16/08/2011 at 22:28 skurmedel says:
Truly an amazing bit of ad hominem. Furthermore, just because some other service is better or worse, or equal, does not invalidate my argument or opinion.
17/08/2011 at 00:11 Daiv says:
Hint: If you have to mash your face across the keyboard to get your depth of feeling across, perhaps you ought to drink a nice refreshing glass of hemlock and re-evaluate your priorities in life.
16/08/2011 at 12:51 MrMud says:
But, but I thought CliffyB said that the PC platform was dead, why are they developing for a dead platform?
16/08/2011 at 13:03 Orija says:
He’ll say that again when the new generation of consoles is announced.
16/08/2011 at 13:07 AndrewC says:
I’d suggest ignoring PR flack whether it be negative or postive towards your preferred platform.
16/08/2011 at 13:08 Khemm says:
@Orija
Agree. They’ll abandon us again the moment the new xbox hits the store shelves.
16/08/2011 at 13:12 ReV_VAdAUL says:
IF CliffyB says something
THEN Ignore CliffyB
16/08/2011 at 17:56 Text_Fish says:
Can you really trust something that somebody called “CliffyB” says? He was probably dazed and confused by a seagull flying overhead when he said that.
16/08/2011 at 18:30 pepper says:
if(CliffyB.speaking == true) { return null; }
16/08/2011 at 12:53 Renfield says:
Awfully nice of Mr Capps to say so; since clearly the PC has changed radically from the time they were all lining up to declare it an obsolete platform.
16/08/2011 at 12:53 Lars Westergren says:
Nice to have you back, Epic.
16/08/2011 at 12:54 Flukie says:
I was gonna make a comment about pigs flying and stuff but man I miss Epic.
Gears of War 3 looks fantastic, I wish they gave it a decent PC release but thats the one game that will sell Xboxes this winter.
UT3 was just a mess of a game really. I expect something good to come from them again though, just don’t design the game with consoles in mind although that makes the money…
16/08/2011 at 12:55 GLSteve says:
Wow, even with all those rampant Pirates you once feared?
Bugger off Epic. You had it all and you blew it. And take your crappy Gears of War with you…
16/08/2011 at 12:56 Anthile says:
Epic reminds me of an ex-girlfriend of mine.
16/08/2011 at 13:03 Ertard says:
Had to log in to comment this because it was so terribly spot on. I feel like they had me once and loved me (UT), we had a wonderful thing going on and everything was fantastic. Then she fucked this other scumbag behind my back (Xbox), and I couldn’t compete with his money and coolness. Now she found he is not capable of progressing in any way shape or form, that he no longer fulfills her needs, and wants me back.
No thanks, you filthy skank. You take your stupid games and stay with that scumbag. Besides, I’ve met much better women since then, and they even give me demos without belittling me.
16/08/2011 at 13:09 AndrewC says:
I’m not sure you’re going to have too many problems with returning girlfriends.
16/08/2011 at 13:18 Teddy Leach says:
Ertard, are you me?
16/08/2011 at 13:26 V. Profane says:
Careful with those demos; some have viruses.
16/08/2011 at 13:26 djbriandamage says:
An unsavoury obsession with big muscles, square jaws, and dirty talk?
16/08/2011 at 13:34 JFS says:
“and they even give me demos without belittling me.”
Oh. My. God. Most greatest quote of the day :D
16/08/2011 at 14:31 skinlo says:
What the hell is wrong with you people? Stop taking what a games company says so seriously. Relax.
16/08/2011 at 14:43 DrGonzo says:
Yeah, what? They are a company. What you’re describing sounds like a fairly serious pychologic disorder to me.
16/08/2011 at 16:15 Prime says:
Uh oh. Here’s comes the “Why so serious?” brigade to rain in what is a very amusing metaphor (one that itself should not be taken too seriously).
Love the girlfriend comparison, chaps. This is exactly what popped into my mind when I saw the headline, Epic crawling back on hands and knees now that they’ve finished chasing money hats on the consoletoys and trying to kill our platform. I say let ‘em back in….on our terms. A decent sequel to either Unreal 1 or UT99, please. Epic, none of this Cogs of Battle nonsense. And make me a sandwich while you’re at it. Chop chop.
16/08/2011 at 12:58 Khemm says:
You know Epic, I wouldn’t say “no” to ports of Gears 2 or 3. I bought Gears 1 PC and liked it.
I’ll believe it (the “we’ll be releasing our games on PC, too” part, that is) when I see it. I can imagine MS delivering a huge suitcase full of money and a note “Xbox exclusive plz” to Mr. Capps again.
16/08/2011 at 13:01 Hanban says:
A lot of pouty faces here!
16/08/2011 at 16:24 Prime says:
With good reason.
16/08/2011 at 13:04 Orija says:
Wasn’t Gamescom to begin from the 17th?
16/08/2011 at 13:06 Jim Rossignol says:
I was conflating with GDCE, which is running beforehand.
16/08/2011 at 13:07 MeepZero says:
If I remember correctly, Epic was saying the exact same stuff before they released UT3. A lot of “PC Gamers are our bread and butter” kinda talk. Then they sold a zillion copies of Gears o War and LOL’d themselves to the bank. God I’m still smoldering over this after how many years?
After that I don’t think there is any way I’ll spend money on a product of theirs again. Show me a real UT product and I’ll think about it.
16/08/2011 at 13:11 Khemm says:
I think UT3 proved Epic forgot how to make fast-paced PC shooters right… Do we really want another catastrophe that will make the franchise even more dead than it already is?
16/08/2011 at 14:32 skinlo says:
UT3 is a good game. Not as good as UT2k4, but still not bad.
I suggest people get over things that happen 4/5 years a go, life moves on, even if you feel it doesn’t.
16/08/2011 at 13:10 TsunamiWombat says:
I reply with a cynical, uppraised brow.
You have scorned me before, good sir, and ended a valued friendship in the process. Now you come to my doorstep promising bygones to be bygones, all hatchets buried. Well, they were wise words spoken when it was advised:
“If your enemy comes to speak bearing a sword, opern your door to him and speak, but keep your own sword at hand. If he comes to you empty handed, greet him the same way, but if he comes to you bearing gifts, stand on your walls and cast stones down on him.”
The question now sir, is what should be holding in my hand when next we meet?
16/08/2011 at 14:42 magnus says:
That was majorly good, that was one hell of a statement, was that!
16/08/2011 at 13:11 The Sombrero Kid says:
Make something worth paying attention to & maybe PC Gamers will pay attention, until then fuck off back to Redmond.
16/08/2011 at 13:15 db1331 says:
It’s so funny to see everyone flocking back to the PC. I guess they saw the metric shit-ton of money Valve made from Portal 2 and took notice. They can all fuck off though. I don’t want any gray space marine third person cover shooters on my platform of choice.
16/08/2011 at 13:16 shoptroll says:
I’ll believe it when I see it. Epic was a favorite developer of mine 5 years ago, but anything they do now is going to be greeted with a good deal of skepticism. Several of their staff have done a great job of smearing FUD on the PC as a platform, despite the company being a founding member of the PCGA (we demand to be taken seriously). I’m still interested in seeing what they do, but as they say actions speak louder than words.
Not sticking with UT3 and patching it to a better state (Black edition was a step in the right direction but came too late), poor porting of GoW, passing over PC for GoW 2 and Shadow Complex, and the Bulletstorm debacles have demonstrated they’re not as serious as they say in my mind.
However, Infinity Blade was a good experience on the iPhone and their approach to free content and updates reminds me of how Epic used to be with the PC. It’s for this reason alone I haven’t fully given up on them.
16/08/2011 at 13:17 slychocobo says:
Hm “PC as the primary platform” Where have we all heard that before? I think what he ment to say was “We developed the game on a PC.. to be played on a console” Thats what most Dev-houses seem to mean these days but then experiance has taught be to be bitter and jaded. :(
Too little, too late Epic.
21/08/2011 at 23:24 Mindscrew says:
Exactly. Just like how DICE is touting PC as being the primary platform for BF3. What they mean to say is, “Look at how awesome our graphics are because we’re using a PC”. However, it doesn’t have the feel and control of a PC game.
16/08/2011 at 13:21 rocketman71 says:
Epic insulted us, released some shit and denied us some other, and now want to make nice again.
They have much to atone for before they even begin to sniff my money.
16/08/2011 at 13:22 GeForceFX says:
I’ll believe it when I see it.
16/08/2011 at 13:23 Linfosoma says:
Is there something wrong with the comment system? It says there’s 30 comments but I can’t see any.
16/08/2011 at 13:27 Daiv says:
Say, um, PC. You’ve been looking nice lately. Have you been working on your sales figures? Not that I was staring. But you’ve been kind of hard to forget since I’ve been gone, and I see all these keen, young indie developers around you all the time, and it’s got me thinking about the way things used to be between us.
Look, we both know I left you for a younger console. Okay, two younger consoles. But I just didn’t know what it was I really wanted. And I’m not here right now just because they haven’t aged as well as you – you’ve always been the most beautiful on the inside. It’s just that, well, now you’re more beautiful on the outside too. I’ve grown, you’ve grown, and they’ve just stood still. They never could do that high resolution you and I used to enjoy so much together, and they’ve told me flat out they’ll never do dual head video out.
I know I sent a lot of press releases that hurt you. It wasn’t you, it was me, and it was wrong. I wish I’d never said PC gamers are nothing but a bunch of whiny, entitled pirates. You deserved better than shoddy console ports and delayed releases, but you always hurt the one you love, right? And I never stopped loving you.
Just tell me what I have to do to make it up to you. Do you want a new IP? I can do that. PC exclusives? Just say the word. You can have anything you want, just say you’re mine.
And, if you do take me back, please, wear this DRM over your head in public. I just don’t trust you.
16/08/2011 at 14:14 neolith says:
This is spot on.
16/08/2011 at 15:00 BathroomCitizen says:
This is pure gold.
16/08/2011 at 13:31 djbriandamage says:
“A primary platform”? Seeing as Epic develops for 3 platforms I wonder just how primary they consider PC?
When Epic gets their next award for Most Juvenile Beefcake no doubt their acceptance speech will begin “I’d like to thank all the loyal customers without whom we could never have ascended from shareware floppies in software stores. They made a lovely squish when we stepped on them.”
P.s., bring back Epic Pinball.
16/08/2011 at 13:31 Saul says:
I don’t really remember any Epic game that I’ve liked. I was an Id guy and now I’m a Valve guy.
16/08/2011 at 13:32 Saul says:
Jazz Jackrabbit was okay for a laugh, I guess.
16/08/2011 at 14:10 KauhuK says:
I rather liked Jazz Jackrabbit 1 & 2. I might forgive Epic if they did new 2D PC-only Jazz.
16/08/2011 at 14:11 Khemm says:
I’m a huge fan of the first Unreal, UT99 and UT2004. The golden age of Epic as a developer.
Which is why it hurt so much when fans like me were pushed away in favour of catering exclusively to the xbox crowd. We didn’t even “deserve” ports of GoW2 and Shadow Complex.
16/08/2011 at 16:22 Prime says:
What Kemm said.
For years we’ve had nothing but disdain from that company. Treated like criminals and denied even simple ports. We PC owners made them what they are and they kicked us in the teeth when they thought there was a better market, not just once but over a period of many years. If they’re serious about being our chums again they’ve got a hell of a lot to prove.
16/08/2011 at 13:34 dnx3 says:
UT3 proved one thing to me, and hopefully to epic: that you can’t really do a fast paced, UT-style game that’s meant to be played on a gamepad. The PC side suffered due to it, and the console side fails as the gamepads just aren’t accurate enough for this type of fast paced gameplay. If there ever was one epic franchise that would make sense for a PC exclusive sequel, it would be UT.
What I would like to see from epic is a PC exclusive UT sequel, using UT99 and UT2K4 as a basis on how to do things right. The focus would be on the core game types, specifically duel, team deathmatch and capture the flag.
Such a project could probably be done with a reasonably small team…10-15′ish maps spread over 3 game types. Could be sold on steam and other online distribution systems for 20$ or so. Basically, the PC equivalent in terms of scope and budget to Shadow Complex.
16/08/2011 at 13:52 jack4cc says:
*knock knock*
Oh, it’s you, Epic.
Well… how nice of you to stop by after abandoning me years ago.
Would you like to come in ?
Nah, just kidding. Fuck off and make sure to take your stupid gears of mondern warfare duty with you.
16/08/2011 at 13:58 Coins says:
It’s funny to see that, now the consoles have been mostly squeezed dry and the graphical ceiling that limits them is really starting to show, the developers who fled to consoles now return to PC. Next thing you know, PC piracy ‘won’t be such a big deal’. I don’t buy their ‘good intentions’ for a moment.
16/08/2011 at 14:05 Milky1985 says:
““It’s nice to target the PC as a primary platform again,” teased Capps, “not just for ports.””
Well if you say a lie enough times you start to believe it as the truth.
Maybe they have said this so much thats what happening here. Basically I will believe it when I see it, right now, I don’t.
16/08/2011 at 14:05 zeroskill says:
I did only read the title, but wasnt that what they said about Bulletstorm too? We all know how that turn out.
16/08/2011 at 14:16 Sicram says:
Waaaaaaaaaaaait, wait, wait, wait, WAIT. Didn’t they not too long ago say that they’ll make the next unreal engine with consoles as a primary target?
What, did they walk out of their cave recently and saw that the PC is more capable than the oldsoles? Not that I don’t mind but I’ll beleive when I see it.
Then again they did make that nifty graphics showcase not too long ago, with all them lighting and shadow effects, water shaders and so on. And them consoles don’t even have Anti-Aliasing, like… really?
16/08/2011 at 14:22 neolith says:
Well… make a good game designed for PC without GFWL, stupid DRM or DLC and stop trying to feed me bullshit phrases about what’s going to happen due to some fancy kool-aid and we’ll see. Until then – meh.
16/08/2011 at 14:25 NaturalDre says:
Bullshit. Epic left PC and they’re not coming back with anything but direct console-ports. And I’m not saying that’s bad, I’m just saying it won’t be designed primarily for PC users. Higher resolution textures and 3D does not count lol.
16/08/2011 at 14:34 skinlo says:
I don’t understand why everyone is getting so stressed. If Epic makes a good game on PC, buy it. If they don’t, don’t.
All the ‘OMG EPIC FUKCED ME OVER ONCE NEVER AGAIN!!1!’ type crap is just pathetic shit.
16/08/2011 at 14:54 DK says:
I know you love me baby even though you hit me.
Grow a spine.
16/08/2011 at 15:04 BathroomCitizen says:
@skinlo: I agree. If they throw me a GOOD PC GAME, why shouldn’t I buy it? I’m just supporting the platform I love.
16/08/2011 at 16:24 Khemm says:
They have to actually make some PC games first instead of releasing everything solely for xbox.
16/08/2011 at 18:00 Pointless Puppies says:
That’s IF Epic makes a good game on the PC. That’s a really big “if” there.
Don’t take their word for it just because they made some cheapo PR statement. Remember how many times Microsoft has said that exact same line now, resulting in absolutely no games?
16/08/2011 at 18:52 Prime says:
Well now you’re getting stressed over the stress you don’t understand, Skinlo, which is a bit mad. For a lot of people Epic deserve this and only this.
16/08/2011 at 14:37 The Hammer says:
And it’s all thanks to the PC Gaming Alliance!
16/08/2011 at 14:43 Arca says:
Bullshit, I’ll wait until I see it.
16/08/2011 at 14:46 bit_crusherrr says:
Inb4 Unreal Facebook Tournament.
16/08/2011 at 15:46 wswswsss says:
That was majorly good,
spree shopping
go to http://bit.ly/n6SVQy
16/08/2011 at 16:29 evilmatt says:
Could your Unreal Engine stop doing utterly retarded things when my resolution is anything other than 1920×1080 please, Mr Capps? Tying the FOV to the vertical axis is not the correct answer.
16/08/2011 at 16:32 JohnnyMaverik says:
Epic are making the PC their primary platform for a game? I call B/S. They’d sooner go for i-phone as lead platform… and have!
16/08/2011 at 18:12 Raiyan 1.0 says:
*Sees all the rage against Epic*
But… but… UDK! :(
16/08/2011 at 18:45 Rii says:
Go home Epic. PC don’t need you no more.
16/08/2011 at 19:11 Raiyan 1.0 says:
But keep UE3 Windows-compatible. :)
16/08/2011 at 19:08 dtskull says:
I guess that’s an improvement from all the anti-PC comments made by Cliffyb in the last few years…
16/08/2011 at 19:15 magnus says:
But is he honestly going to take any of that back? Not if Microsoft bung Epic any more cash for exclusives he won’t.
16/08/2011 at 22:05 Cynicide says:
Hi Epic, do the following and then we’ll talk.
1. Dump Games for Windows Live.
2. Don’t encrypt your INI files when you release a game.
3. Allow more user control over advanced graphic options, this means FoV changes.
4. Get rid of auto aim and mouse smoothing.
5. Don’t label us all as pirates.
6. In-game UIs must suport the mouse properly.
A lot of PC gamers have written you off, you’re going to have to earn that trust back. Just saying you’re targeting the PC in an interview doesn’t make it so.
17/08/2011 at 01:01 Prime says:
Abso-fraggin-lutely. Being focused on the PC as ‘Primary’ doesn’t mean simply giving us the best graphics or releasing first over console, we’d like to see all the shite mentioned above dealt with too.
16/08/2011 at 22:05 Jason Moyer says:
Between the way AAA publishers/developers treat PC users, the increased focus of mainstream games on people who don’t actually like videogames (think about how utterly likely that strategy is to backfire – 1983 north american videogame crash all over again) and the increased availability/awesomeness of indie games I’m on the verge of simply not caring whatsoever about Epic or any other mainstream publisher supporting my preferred platform.
17/08/2011 at 09:49 Screamer says:
“It’s nice to target the PC as a primary platform again,” teased Capps, “not just for ports.”
What ports? :/